Plastic ice tray grid



Oct 1945- T. w. RUNDELL PLASTIC ICE TRAY GRID Filed Dec. 24, 1945 Me/7km Patented Oct. 16, 1945 f UNITED STATES PLASTIC ICE TRAY GRIDTheodore W. Rundell, Abington, Pa., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Philco'Radio and Television Corporation,Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation 01' Delaware Application December 24,1943, Serial No. 515,558

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to ice molds, and more particularly to agrid of the class commonly used in the ice trays of householdrefrigerators for molding ice cubes or other small bodies of a size andshape suitable for domestic uses.

It has been proposed to provide combination grid-and-cover members forice trays, but the prior devices have been unsatisfactory by reason ofcertain inherent faults which give rise to difficulties, either infilling the tray with water for production of the ice bodies or infreeing the member from the frozen bodies to make the latter availablefor use.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a combinedgrid and cover which, when in place within the tray, will not preventnor unduly complicate the filling of the tray with water; and which maybe readily removed from the tray at" any time either before or after theformation of the ice has been completed.

More specifically, an object of the invention is to provide agrid-and-cover member of a character to establish within the tray aplurality of enclosed freezing chambers or compartments, said memberbeing constructed so as to facilitate the filling of the chambers withwater, and so as to afford an automatic separation of the memberfrom thefully formed ice bodies whereby the member may be withdrawn readily fromthe tray and from the ice bodies, the latter remaining in the tray incondition for immediate use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grid-and-cover member ofthe self-releasing character described above wherein the automaticrelease is efiected by action of expansion forces resulting from thefreezing of the water within the enclosed chambers aforesaid.

The invention further contemplates a gridand-cover member of thecharacter set forth having means for producing a supply of ice inaddition to the bodies produced within the said freezing chambers andrelied upon to afford the automatic release.

Other novel features of the invention will appear from the followingdetailed description and from the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View showing the improved combination cover andgrid in position within an ice tray;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the assembly shown in Fig. 1with portions of the assembly broken away to illustrate the cooperativerelation between the cover-and-g fid structure and the tray;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view illustrating the grid-and-coverelevated in the tray as in the act of insertion or removal; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional viewlon the line 4-6, Fig. 1.

With reference to the drawing, the reference 50 the same size.

numeral I designates an ice tray substantially of conventional form andpreferably composed of metal having relatively high heat conductivecapacity and stamped or otherwise shaped from a single sheet of saidmetal to the elongated substantiallyrectangularform shown. Thesidewalls2 and end walls 3 are preferably inclined so as to converge toward thebottom wall 4; and the said side and end walls are formed at their topswith an outward lateral flange 5 which extends continuously around thetop of the tray and which :rmiilates at its outer edge in an upstandingad The grid-and-cover member forming the subject of the invention isdesignated generally by the reference numeral 1. Preferably the memberis molded in one piece from suitable material having a lower heatconductive capacity than the material of the tray i, and many plastics,such for example, as that known in the trade as Vinylite, are welladapted for this purpose.

As shown in the drawing, the combination grid-and-cover member 7 is of asize and shape to fit within the confines of the upstanding bead 6 ofthe tray 1, and has a marginal edge portion sertion and removal thereofin and from the tray.

Arranged at intervals along the length of the member and within theconfines of the marginal edge portion 8, are a number of trough-likeV-shaped recesses In, these recesses in effect al- 3 ternating withcover portions II. The walls l2 and I3 of the recesses I I] extend toand contact with the bottom wall 4 of the tray when the grid and-covermember is in normal position within the latter, as shown in Figs. 2 and4. Rib sec- 40 tions It are joined to the under sides of the coverportions II and to the slanting sides of said recesses i0, and serve todivide the spaces defined by said cover portions and sides into twocompartments. In the present instance the ribs N,

which extend to the lower edges of the walls I2, as shown in Figs. 2 and3, lie on the longitudinal center line of the grid-and-cover member andthe compartments are therefore approximately of Similar ribs l5 extendfrom the outer walls of the end recesses l0, as shown in Fi 3.

The ribs I 4 and I5 and the depending walls of the recesses Ill coastwith the bottom, side and end walls of the tray to form within thelatter a plurality of separate ice compartments enclosed at the top bythe cover portions II. To this end, and as previously set forth, thelower edges of the downwardly converging walls of the recesses Ill andof the said ribs 14 and I5 will normally engage the bottom wall 4 of thetray. Similarly, the outer edges of the ribs I5 and the end walls I! otthe recesses I II will contact the end and side walls of the tray,respectively, and are member without provision for producing a supplycontoured accordingly, as shown in Figsw3 and 4.

The interior of the tray is thereby divided into-a plurality ofcompartments I6 each of which is covered for the greater part by one orother,of the cover portions I I and within which the water content ofthe tray may be frozen into individual ice bodies. The recesses l mayalso be utilized as freezing compartments, thereby increasing theice-production capacity of the tray.

In the freezing process, the water within the aforesaid compartmentsfreezes first along the walls ofthe tray I andcontinues to freeze in adirection away from said walls, this by reason of the relativedifference in heat conductive capacity of the tray and combinationgrid-and-cover member I. Accordingly, the expansion forces arising fromthe ultimate freezing of the water are directed substantially towardsaid grid-and-cover member with the result that the said forces act todisplace said member in relation to the tray and to the ice bodiesformed within the latter. Such displacement breaks the bond between thesaid ice bodies and the surfaces of said member, leaving the latter freefor lifting from the tray and from the ice cubes which remain exposedand accessible within the tray. The action above referred to is known inthe art and forms no part of the present invention.

The marginal edge 8 of the member I is of extra width opposite the endsof the portions I I, so that in these areas the said edge in partoverlies the compartments I6 and in effect forms portions of the coversof the latter. In accordance with the invention, the said marginal edgeis provided with openings I! which afford access to the compartments andthrough which water may be supplied to the latter while the member I isin position in the tray. Also, for a purpose hereinafter explained, thecover portions II are formed with upper surfaces of rectangularpyramidal form presenting inclined planes l8 and I9 terminating,respectively, at their lower ends in the recesses I0 land in themarginal edge Bopposite the openings In use, the combinationgrid-and-cover memher I may be placed in the tray I by placing one endof the memberon the flange 5 and against the head 6 of the tray, andthereafter through the medium of the handle 9 lowering the other endinto place as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3. Water may then be pouredor be allowedto run over the member 1 thereby filling the V-shapedrecesses I0 and, by way of the openings II, the compartments IS, thewater being directed by the inclined surfaces I8 and I9 to the saidrecesses and openings, and also to the marginal edge 8 from which itflows into said recesses and openings. In this connection, it is to benoted that the bead 6 projects above the plane of the marginal edge 8and, therefore, acts as a means for directing the flow of water to therecesses I0 and to the openings I'I.

. The water-filled tray is thenplaced in the freezing compartment,conventionally provided in automatic refrigerators, wherein the water isconverted into ice. After freezing, the combination grid-and-covermember may readily be removed from the tray, and from the ice bodieswithin the compartments I6, which bodies will remain within the tray.The ice within the trough-like recesses III may be liberated byimparting a slight twisting motion to the grid-and-cover member.

of ice other than that produced'in the primary compartments It, then theV-shaped' portions embracing the recesses I0 may be formed as solid orsealed parts of the structure from which water is excluded. It will beunderstood also that other modifications in the specific structureherein shown and described may be made without departing from theinvention. I claim:

- pending from said cover portions and intercoml. Ice molding means ofthe character described, comprising an ice tray having a marginalflange, a combination grid-and-cover member cooperative with the tray toform within the latter confined areas constituting individual freezingcompartments, a marginal edge portion of said member being arranged forengagement with the flange of said tray and having therein meansaffording access to said areas for introduction of a liquid medium.

2. A combination ice-tray grid and cover comprising cover portions,generally V-shaped portions depending from said cover portions, and amarginal edge projecting laterally from said cover portions and havingopenings extending therethrough.

3. A combination ice-tray grid and cover comprising cover portions,generally V-shaped portions depending from said cover portions, and anecting said V-shaped portions intermediate the length of the latter,said rib sections extending substantially to the bottoms of the v-shapedportions, and said cover portions having openings extendingtherethrough.

6. A combination ice-tray grid and cover comprising alternating coverportions and depending generally V-shaped portions, rib sectionsinterconnecting the V-shaped portions and extending from said coverportions substantially to the bottoms of said V-shaped portions, saidcover portions having openings extending therethrough and inclinedsurfaces directed toward said openings.

7. A combination ice-tray grid and cover comprising spaced coverportions and intervening generally V-shaped open-top trough-likeportions, rib sections depending from the cover portions and attached tosaid V-shaped portions and corresponding in height substantially to thelat?- ter, said cover portions having openings extending therethroughandinclined surfaces directed toward the openings in-said cover portionsand toward the open tops of said V-shaped trough-like Portions.

THEODORE W. RUNDELL.

